William taggaet



` 'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

WILLIAM TAGGART, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

PRESERVING PILES.

'SPECIFICATION forming* part 0f Letters Patent lvm-261,405, dated July 18, 1882, Application filed April13, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that I, WILLIAM TAGGART, of San Francisco, county of San Francisco,State of California, have invented a new Process of Preserving Piles and other Timber; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to a means for preserving timber from the action of the teredo and other destructive marine insects; and it cousists in a novel method of treatment for preservation, as hereinafter fully described, andl precisely pointed out in the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawing for a more complete explanation of my invention, the figure represents a vertical section of a pile bored for my process.

My process may be applied to any timber which is to be submerged, but it is especially applicable to piling for wharves and other structures where it is exposed to the ravages of t-he teredo and other marine worms or iusects. I

A is a pile, through which I bore a hole, B, longitudinally, extending to thelnud-line. This hole should be preferably two or three inches in diameter, and maybe bored by suitable machinery either before or after the pile is driven,

according to necessityor convenience. Asteampipe is first introduced to the hole B and steam under pressure is injected into the pile until the sap is expelled and the pile is entirely steamed through. I then take a solution of potash or soda, makinga strong lye of it, or I tion of tobacco, or some of the forms of' petroleum. The hole is filled with this solution, which is forced through the pores by hydraulic or steam pressure until the timberis thoroughly saturated. The hole may then be filled with the solution and plugged up. This treatment will prevent the entrance of the tergdointo new timber, and will also drive it olt of piles into which it has already effected an entrance.

The caps of the piles may be perforated, so that the treatment can be repeated whenever necessary, which may be once 4or .twice a year in temperate climates and oftener in hot climates.

I am aware that it is not new to bore piles longitudinally and insert wood-preservatives,

t may use diluted sulphuric acid, a strong soluv 35 nor do I claim this, broadly, as my invention. v 

